In the vast, golden desert, a caravan of camels, lined up one after another, advanced unhurriedly toward an unknown destination, braving the wind, sand, and sun.
Jingle bells!!
Jingle bells!!
As they moved, the bells around the camels’ necks continuously chimed, creating a sound like wind chimes.
In this boundless desert, the sound was clear and melodious, like a grand, epic performance.
Boom—!
Far off to the left and front of the camel caravan, a small sand dune was suddenly leveled by a bullet.
Yes, a bullet. It was just a peculiar bullet, not metallic black, but a semi-transparent, silvery hue, flickering between reality and illusion.
Behind the caravan, A'Luo's eyes widened, the red glow within them gradually fading. His face was flushed, and he was in a state of extreme excitement.
He lowered his hand, gazing at the gun before him, his eyes brimming with joy.
Kong Tai’s guess was correct; the gun in A'Luo’s hand was the one Kong Tai had found last night.
After a night of training, this gun, which had consumed the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dachshund, had transformed completely in A'Luo's hands.
The gun in A'Luo’s hand no longer resembled the sniveling, listless dog it once was.
Instead, it had become a slender weapon, the size of a long barrel, with the head of a fierce dog at its muzzle.
Although the gun had shrunk in size under A'Luo's control, its power had not diminished. In fact, due to its drastic transformation, not only had the bullet's size changed, but its color had too, making these semi-transparent bullets, existing between reality and illusion, more potent than ever, their lethality increased by more than a notch.
“Show-off.”
A'Hua lowered the canteen he was holding, turned to look at A'Luo, and adjusted his glasses. “You’ve been playing with it for half the day, still not tired of it?”
He then glanced down at the gun in A'Luo’s hand, pursing his lips.
“Hahahaha!!”
A'Luo holstered the gun and hung it at his waist. He glanced at A'Hua. In the past, he would have retorted to whatever A'Hua said, good or bad, but today…
He averted his gaze, reached into a cloth bag behind the camel with his right hand, and took a few sips from his water skin. His left hand clutched the gun’s grip, never letting go, his eyes and heart filled with delight.
Clatter clatter!!
In front of A'Luo, Indigo turned his head and smiled at him. “A'Luo.”
“Hmm!”
A'Luo looked up at Indigo. “What is it, Dr. Indigo?”
“You haven’t named this gun yet, have you?”
Indigo's gaze drifted down to the gun at A'Luo’s waist and he chuckled, “Aren’t you going to give it a name?”
“A name?”
A'Luo lowered his head to look at the gun, then raised his head, his gaze passing over Indigo to the front, where Kong Tai was. He called out loudly, “Kong Tai.”
“Yeah!”
Kong Tai, lying on the camel’s back, his body swaying with its motion, asked without turning his head, “What is it?”
“Does this gun have a name?”
Kong Tai had given him the gun last night. He couldn’t believe such a miraculous weapon was something Kong Tai had found by chance. It must have been something Kong Tai and Kuina had found somewhere while they were playing separately last night.
Well… it could have also been something they snatched from some villain.
He didn’t care about those details. He just wanted to know if Kong Tai knew the gun's name.
Kong Tai raised his right hand, used to shield his eyes from the sun, and touched his chin, thinking.
He did remember the gun had a name. As for what that name was, who knew?
In the anime, this character was a mere extra among extras. If it weren't for the fact that it was one of the only five inanimate objects in One Piece that had eaten a Devil Fruit, and the earliest one to appear, he wouldn't have remembered it at all.
So, Kong Tai didn’t know its name.
He raised his right hand and waved it backward.
“This gun is yours now, and it will always be your partner. So, its original name doesn't matter anymore.”
Kong Tai reached for his wine gourd with his left hand, flicked open the stopper with his thumb, raised it above his head, the spout stopping above his lips. He tilted it, and the clear liquid wine flowed down from the spout, directly into Kong Tai’s mouth.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!!
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and the wine slid down his throat.
“Phew~”
Setting down the wine gourd, Kong Tai exhaled a breath of alcohol and shouted, “A'Luo.”
“Yeah!”
“The name of a partner is something you choose yourself!”
A'Luo withdrew his gaze, raised his right hand, took a drink of water, then closed the lid of the water skin and put it back in the cloth bag. He lowered his head, looked at the gun in his left hand, and stroked his chin in deep thought.
“What name should I choose?”
“Gun Dog!”
At that moment, A'Tao patted his camel and stepped forward, walking alongside A'Luo. He tilted his head, looking at the gun in A'Luo’s hand, picked up a cigarette, and exhaled a smoke ring, exclaiming loudly, “How about Gun Dog?”
“This gun of yours consumed a dog-type fruit, didn't it? And it’s also a gun. Gun Dog fits perfectly.”
A'Tao said, nodding, looking up at A'Luo with a smile. “What do you think? Judging by your expression, you can't think of any good names. Might as well use mine! I think it’s very fitting!”
“Haha!!”
After speaking, A'Tao raised his hand, the cigarette in his mouth, took a deep drag, and looked at A'Luo expectantly.
“What kind of good name is that!”
Before A'Luo could reply, A'Hua’s voice came from behind them. A'Hua patted the back of his camel's neck and strode forward, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with A'Luo.
He glanced at A'Luo, then his gaze passed over A'Luo to A'Tao. “If you ask me, this gun should be called Dog Gun.”
He then withdrew his gaze, puffed out his ample belly to make himself more comfortable, and said to A'Luo, “After all, it’s a gun that consumed a Devil Fruit. The Devil Fruit should come first, don't you think, A'Luo?”
“What nonsense!”
A'Tao put down his hand and started yelling at A'Hua, letting the tobacco fall from the corner of his mouth.
“A gun is a gun, why should the Devil Fruit come first? Do you even know common sense!”
“Yes, yes, I don't know, only you know, right? Then let me ask you, is Gun Dog more pleasing to the ear, or Dog Gun? I think Dog Gun sounds better.”
“Sounds better my ass, I think Gun Dog sounds the best.”
“Dog Gun!”
“Gun Dog!”
“Dog Gun!”
“…”
Clatter clatter clatter clatter!!!
Indigo burst into laughter, watching A'Tao and A'Hua bicker back and forth, completely unaware that he was the one who had initiated the conversation.
“Alright.”
A'Luo lowered his hand, raised his head, and roared.
“Uh!”
A'Tao and A'Hua exchanged glances, turned their heads in unison, adopting an air of not having argued at all. They then took out their water skins, took a sip, and turned to look at A'Luo, both eager to see what name he would come up with.
A'Luo straightened up, holding the gun in his left hand, resting it on his right shoulder. His right hand gripped the handle, his index finger hooked around the trigger. His voice, starting low and growing louder, became firm. “Since Kong Tai has given me such a precious gun, I must also be worthy of it. Therefore…”
He tilted his head, his eye aligning with the scope that had been attached to the gun’s back last night. A red glow flickered in his eye, Armament Haki enveloped the bullet in the barrel, and he squeezed the trigger.
Pop—!
There was no flash, no smoke. A semi-transparent bullet, glowing with a dark light, shot out of the barrel, seeming to pierce space, and instantly vanished from everyone’s sight.
“Ah…”
At that moment, from the direction A'Luo had fired, a sharp, piercing scream suddenly erupted.
Then—
Boom—!
Flames erupted.
In the depths of the desert to the left and front, a giant scorpion, with only half its body remaining, was blown out of the sand by the sudden explosion. Along with the scorpion came a shockwave carrying sand.
Everyone shielded their foreheads with their hands, gazing at the distant giant crater and the still-burning half of the scorpion at its edge, swallowing their saliva.
They knew this thing was powerful, but they hadn’t expected it to be this strong when combined with Armament Haki.
“This thing is a gun?”
What kind of bullet was that which was fired?
It was like a cannonball, and a cannonball with extreme penetration and speed at that.
“So badass!”
They could already imagine what this thing would be like in naval battles.
These semi-transparent bullets, without Observation Haki, would be impossible to detect.
One shot.
One ship.
A'Luo ignored everyone’s astonishment, lowered the gun, and roared with laughter, “From now on, I’ll call you ‘Underworld Hound’! The Underworld Hound that comes from the netherworld to reap lives.”
“Woof!”
“Hahahaha!! You must be happy too! Then it’s settled.”
“Hahahaha…”
Hearing the sound from the Underworld Hound, A'Luo raised the gun and laughed heartily.
“Underworld Hound?”
At the front of the camel caravan, Kong Tai, sipping his wine, smiled, a smile forming on his lips.